Onward
by meenajon
Summary: Just my own take on what could have happened in Season 2.
1. Chapter 1

"You know they won't come easily."

Moonlight glinted in silver streaks off the young man's hair as he looked down on the harbor below.

"She won't. The other will soon enough. We just have to show her," his brother said. He was older than the other three. Taller. His hair was just as dark and he resembled the other ones, save his pale blue eyes and nearly translucent skin.

"Maybe we won't have to," began the girl who was absentmindedly rubbing the lightly raised skin on the palm of her right hand.

"Because it's already started," finished the other teenage boy.

In unison they lowered their right arms, spreading out their fingers as the itching intensified on their palms.

On the outskirts of town, Diana deftly hid a gasp of surprise beneath the smile she gave Grant - her knight in shining armour who'd been in the right place at the right time. He who was taking her away from what had become, for her, the place of nightmares. She looked out into the darkness and tried to ignore the feelings that came with the itching of her scar.

And while the flames grew higher, Cassie Blake smiled in delight at the hunger she felt within. The hunger that was just beginning.

* * *

Hi there all. I own nothing but the ideas swimming around my head. L.J. Smith started this shebang. Alloy Entertainment continued it because of a copyright loophole.

Have a great weekend.

\- M.


	2. Chapter 2

Cassie could feel them, somewhere out in the mist. The feeling of power that had passed through her when she and Diana held the skull the night before stayed with her well through morning. It was seductive; warming her like the blood coursing through her veins. The Balcoins were coming.

Morning light streamed through her still open window. She heard arguing from next door and rose to see what was causing all the commotion.

Jake and Faye. He was waving a piece of paper around, gesturing to an object Faye was holding in her hands. She raised an eyebrow as her own movement in the window caught Faye's attention, followed quickly by Jake's. His face fell and he jerked his curtains closed, effectively shutting her out.

"Okay, then," she said aloud as she turned away.

It was then she noticed the light blinking on her cell phone. Three messages in total. The first two were from Jake.

\- Cassie, come over when you get this. I've got something to show you. 11:15 pm

\- Cassie, I NEED to talk to you. 8:15 am

"Yeah, THAT'S not going to happen," she muttered. The third text was from Adam.

\- Call me. 9:00 am

Cassie looked at the time. It was almost ten. She'd do one better and go see him instead.


	3. Chapter 3

Cassie's knuckles hadn't even rapped against the door when Adam greeted her with a warm smile. He'd known she was coming, even though she had not returned his text. She'd wanted it to be a surprise.

And a surprise it was. That smile made her ache inside, for all that she remembered felt, and all that could never be.

"Good morning," she said, taking a good look at him. There were dark circles under his eyes, something one would expect after dealing the previous night with one of the darkest witches ever born.

Adam ran a hand through his hair, his face suddenly changing, his expression going serious all at once.

"I remember, Cassie."

He reached a hand out to her and she was helpless against his pull. Cassie watched him closely, her eyes searching his carefully. It was all there. That spark that she saw the first time she' been with him in the forest.

"Adam, I..."

But the words died on her lips as he covered them with his own, the door quietly shutting them away from the rest of the world, if only for a little while.


	4. Chapter 4

She had fallen asleep. Cassie wasn't sure how long she'd been out, but was definitely aware of the state of her undress. Her mind went back to the last time she'd been in this position, the urge to look out the window overwhelming the one to find her hastily discarded clothing.

"Don't worry. No dead birds on the lawn," Adam said, his deep and gentle voice moving her attention to the other side of the room. He was already dressed, prompting her to slide on her undergarments, followed by her jeans and t-shirt.

"But if we're cursed..." she began. Adam held up a hand and she watched him move over to his art desk.

"I didn't remember a thing about how I felt until this," he said, pulling a towel off the one thing she was hoping to never see again. The skull gleaming in the bright lamplight made her skin crawl. But the power emanating from it Dee her closet still.

"Maybe with this, we can be together. With this, we can keep the curse at bay."

After staring at the large crystal for what seemed like an eternity, she blinked and shook her head. It was then she took a good look at Adam. His skin was paler now than it had been when she walked in the front door. There was an almost frantic energy in his eyes. She recognized that look.

"Adam, we have to destroy it. YOU were supposed to destroy it. Just like the elders did. Just like before."

"But think of all the good it could do," he said, lowering his gaze to the object in question. "It could keep the circle safe. Keep you safe."

Cassie reached towards him and the skull. "Adam. It has to be destroyed."

"No."

One word. But the tone in that word told her all she needed to know.

"I've..." she started. "I've got to go."

"Just think about it, Cassie. We can be free."

Adam came around the table, wrapping his arms around her, kissing the top of her head as he pulled her into the little space beneath his arm where she'd fit so well, so many times before.

"I love you, Cassie. I remember it all."

"I love you, too, Adam."

She tilted her head up to accept his kiss, before she turned to leave, and shut the door behind her again.


	5. Chapter 5

"You did WHAT?" Jake reverted to his usual pacing back and hen stress manifested itself around him. "And what about the curse, Cassie? Which one of us is going to be dying next, huh? Did that even cross your mind while you were..." The rest of the words caught in his throat, unable to work their way up and out.

Cassie spoke her next sentences very quietly.

"There's no curse, Jake. It's something my father made up."

His pacing stalled. He turned to look at her, brows furrowed.

"Wait...what?"

Cassie sighed audibly. Better to spit it out now, she thought. It would all come out eventually.

"Yeah, see, he... He spelled you to be sick. Spelled...the birds to swarm the house and die. He...he..." She hesitated, tucking her hands into the crooks her elbows had made after she'd unconsciously crossed her arms.

"He used your concern for the Circle against us," Jake began softly. "He manipulated you two into taking the potions; which made Adam forget. Cassie, he manipulated all of us."

It dawned on them both just how badly. Cassie bit her lip and nodded, unable yet to meet Jake's eyes.

"He knew that I love you, Cassie." Jake couldn't help the emotion seeping into every word that he spoke now. "He could see I love you enough to play a little dirty to get what I wanted."

Jake stepped in front of her and placed a knuckle just beneath her chin. He raised it until her eyes were looking straight at him. They had no other choice than to meet his.

"You gave up your chance with Adam to save my life. He used your feelings for me against us, too, didn't he?"

He knew it was a shot in the dark. Jake cared about Faye, but he was still in love with Cassie. If there was any chance...

After what seemed an eternity, Cassie sighed and nodded.

"Yes, he did. And now Adam's got the skull, and he's not getting rid of it...and I can't hurt him, Jake...not after... I can't hurt him. Not after everything we've been through!"

Jake grabbed her firmly by the shoulders and looked at her more clearly, then.

"What do you mean, he still has the skull?"

"That's why I came to see you, Jake. I didn't know where else to go! My father's gone. My mother's gone. My sister's gone. My grandmother's GONE! I don't have anybody else!"

Wrapping her in his arms, he placed his chin on her hair, speaking softly to soothe her. He knew she was unaware that the higher her voice had gotten, the more the room was beginning to shake.

"Shhh... I promise you we'll figure it out. Remember, you've still got me." He placed a hand in her hair, then, stroking it downward as Cassie let the tears flow.

"Well...isn't THIS sweet?"

"Faye..." Jake began; his tone full of warning. They hadn't heard her come up the stairs. Before he could continue, Faye treated them to a look of disgust, turning on her heel and she went back the way she'd come.

Cassie shook her head, letting a wry laugh escape as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. She stepped back, putting a little distance between them.

Jake sighed. "Look, I'll go deal with Faye. Find Melissa and let's meet at the house. We've got to deal with the Adam situation as soon as we can. Anything else can wait."

Understanding the discussion wasn't finished - merely tabled for now - she opened her cell, calling Melissa as she walked back to what was now HER home.

"Hey. We've got a problem..."


	6. Chapter 6

"So we're down two members now?" Melissa said as she looked around the room.

Cassie sat on one end of the couch; Jake on the other. Faye was leaning against the table covered with Nick's old experiments.

"No. Diana's gone off to who knows where, and apparently Adam's gone over to the dark side," Faye responded, each word dripping with sarcasm. At Jake's dirty look, she sighed. "What? I'm only saying what everyone else is thinking. I'm really tired of trying not to break all the eggshells, guys."

"So what do we do?" Melissa asked as she sat down between Jake and Cassie.

"Well, I'm sure that we all can come up with a mutually beneficial solution," replied a disembodied voice coming up the stairwell.

Cassie stood with a start and a brief look over at Jake, who mimicked her movements.

"Now, now... There's no need to get up on my account."

A young woman appeared at the top of the stairs. She crossed the threshold into the room, clad all in black. Black boots with shiny silver tips that shone in candlelight. She wore black leather pants and a calf length leather duster that covered her thin black shirt. Her hair only added to the overall darkness she walked with, falling thick, and straight, and dark to her waist. The girl was tall like Faye, but her skin carried a healthy glow. But it was her eyes that caught and held Cassie's attention. The bright hazel shade was just like her father's, as was the velvet tinge to her voice that the words the young woman spoke carried with them.

"What do you want?" Jake beat Cassie to the punch, stepping slightly in front of her in a protective stance.

She moved to be parallel to him, reaching out and placing the palm of her left hand on his forearm to calm him. It was a move that did not go unnoticed judging by the smirk on the face of the girl in front of them. The girl gave Jake a cursory glance, looking at him like he was a squashed bug she had just had the unpleasantness of scraping off the bottom of her shiny boot.

"As I was saying," she began again, ignoring Jake altogether and focusing solely on Cassie.

"As my dear sister was saying, we're not here to fight, Cassie," said the young man who'd followed her up the stairs.

He, too, was tall; almost level with Jake. His features closely mirrored his sister's, to where anyone could make an educated guess that they were fraternal twins. The moment the thought passed through Cassie's mind, the two of them smiled, only confirming it.

"Huh."

A singular word that escaped Faye's lips as the third came up to flank the others. Tall, dark hair, pale blue eyes and even paler skin. If she didn't already know who he was with, she'd bet that he'd make a perfect vampire. Faye found herself stepping slightly forward, but managed to catch herself and stopped short as he gave her a cold look as icy as the shade of his irises. The young man nodded to acknowledge Cassie, then stood beside his siblings.

The last one followed quietly, scanning the room. Cassie's eyes narrowed as she saw him. His hair was paler than the others; almost the shade of Adam's, but with slivers of gold strewn throughout. She met his eyes and was startled that they were the same green as an old pop bottle. He looked carefully at everyone in the room, studying them for a moment before smiling genuinely at Cassie.

"Hello," he said. His voice was so deep it made her shiver.

Cassie stood there, unable to say anything. Here were the other four Balcoin children, standing in the middle of the room, facing her and the rest of her circle. They were strong. Cassie could feel power coming off of them in waves, and absentmindedly reached over to scratch her mark, the surface of the skin itching more since her siblings had walked up the stairs.

"Cassie?" Jake whispered, looking down at her with concern. It was enough to make her blink and snap out of whatever thoughts were trolling through her mind.

"I'm sorry, but who are you and why are you here?"

Number two, for that's what her brain was currently calling them by; one, two, three and four. Number two spoke up, and she knew that he would be ever cryptic in his answers.

"You know who we are and why we're here."

Number one, the lone female, rolled her eyes dramatically and punched her brother in the arm. She sighed dramatically before answering.

"We're the Balcoin children. And so are you. And you _do_ know why we're here, Cassie. But I suppose you want _formal_ introductions, then. Fine. I'm Melissa. This is my twin brother Nicholas. Beside him is Adam, and bringing up the rear, is Jakob."

Faye snapped out of her stupor and looked at them all like they'd lost their minds.

"Excuse me? There's no way those are your names. You're shitting me."

The one that the young lady had dubbed Adam, with the icy stare, responded.

"No, you foul mouthed... No. She's not 'shitting' you."

Faye backed down and Cassie nodded. As if her world couldn't have gotten any weirder.

Jakob cocked an eyebrow at that and Cassie spoke aloud.

"And what is with the hearing my thoughts, crap? I know you can do it. I see the expressions on your faces."

"You need to learn how to shield better," her Jake responded. He reached out and twined his fingers with his, projecting a sense of calm and well being towards her. "Mind over matter, Cassie. Mind over matter."

"Indeed," said his counterpart, eyeing him carefully. Jake had been aware the entire time they were being sized up, to see who could be picked off first.

All the while, Melissa had not moved from her seat on the sofa. Her eyes jumped from one Balcoin sibling to the other, and only expressed shock at the revelation of their names.


	7. Chapter 7

No one had noticed the newest member to the party, if that's what it could be called. The Circle's Adam slowly moved into the room, looking at all the persons within. He walked around them, not saying a word but went over to stand near Cassie, taking her empty hand into his, whilst looking at Jake's hand in her other with disdain.

"Nice of you to show up," Faye said sarcastically.

"Funny," Adam began. "I wasn't invited to the pow-wow." He looked at the Balcoin children and nodded. "Who are these clowns?"

Jakob placed a warning hand on Adam Balcoin's arm, shaking his head back and forth. _Time and place_ , he though to his brother. _Time and place._ The younger Balcoin stepped back a bit, narrowing his eyes at his Circle counterpart. But it was his half sister Melissa who stepped forward, a wicked grin on her lips. She trailed one finger down the unoccupied arm of Adam, her tongue darting between her lips as she smiled more.

"You have something we want," she said lowly, addressing him alone.

"No. I don't." The words were said equally low, but were laced with a malice Cassie had not heard out of Adam before. She watched him, gaze steady. A small squeeze to his hand and he flinched a bit, looking down at her briefly before looking back up at the other Melissa.

"Leave it, Liss," Jakob said. "He'll bring it when he's ready."

Adam chuckled, shaking his head. "No, I will not. I can't bring something I don't have."

Cassie looked at him like he'd sprouted horns. Was he bluffing? Or did he finally do what it was he was supposed to all along?

Jakob looked at Jake, nodding. "Until next time." He led the way out for the four Balcoin children, not giving them a chance to continue the conversation. With that the Circle members were pretty sure who was in charge amongst them.

"Not likely," Jake responded, turning to look at Cassie before Faye's voice interrupted anything he was going to say.

"So, we're just going to let them go?"

"Yes, Faye. We're just going to let them go." Cassie looked at all of them when she said it, then wrenched her hand free of Adam's before her clipped speech continued. "Adam, sit down."

Jake sighed and rubbed his eyes. It was going to be a long night.


	8. Chapter 8

"Time and place? TIME and PLACE? You have got to be kidding me? We NEED to take them out! ESPECIALLY blondie." Adam's blue eyes became a darker shade as he thought about the tall young man that had been holding on to Cassie's hand so tightly.

"You've got to be kidding me. Her? Out of all the people you could want, and you want HER? I didn't think it was possible, but I may just have to throw up. Be right back." Melissa made a show of heading to the bathroom, coughing as she went.

Jakob shook his head and sighed. "We can't do anything yet. We need the other Balcoin, and we need that skull. Cassie isn't protective of just the one, but the other, too."

He went to sit on the chair next to the window, looking outward at the façade of the run down motel they'd checked into. His half siblings wanted to stay in something fancier, but it was much easier to get by not paying for rooms when the innkeepers were lacking in the brain pan. He could understand the appeal that Cassie held for Adam. She was like a bright light, laced with a little darkness. The combination could be extremely intoxicating.

As he thought on it further, the mark on his hand began a slow burn. He looked at his so-called siblings, but none of them were reacting. Adam was tossing a ball in the air, Nicholas was switching channels on the ancient television by the flick of his wrist, and he could still hear Melissa hurling in the bathroom. What a lovely group they were.

"Once we have them both, we'll destroy them all," he said too low for the others to hear.

* * *

"Dammit!" Cassie yelped, immediately going to the sink and running ice cold water across the palm of her hand. It felt like someone had burned it with a hot iron.

"Cassie?"

"In here," she called out, still running the water over it as Jake walked into her grandmother's kitchen. "Can you hand me some ice?"

Looking at her in concern he walked over to the refrigerator and took out a few cubes. Jake gingerly took Cassie's hand into his and looked at the Balcoin mark, before slowly moving a piece of ice across the surface.

"Does that help?" he asked, looking down at her.

"Not really," she sighed, returning the look before she smile wryly up at him. After a few minutes she wriggled her hand out from under his and wiped it on the leg of her jeans. "Thanks."

"Anytime."

Jake's eyes followed her as she walked over and sat down at the kitchen table. Cassie was acutely aware of his presence, and the unspoken questions that still needed to be answered between them.

"Cassie…."

"Jake…."

He smiled and she laughed nervously as their words intersected. He put down the hand towel he'd dried his hands off with and sat down at the chair next to hers, angling it so he could look directly at her as they talked.

"Cassie. Look," he began again, giving her time to interrupt him if she wished. "I don't know what is going to happen. None of us do. But we need to figure out how to deal with your…. Brothers and sister."

The last three words left an acrid taste in his mouth as he spoke them. Cassie's eyes narrowed as she stared off into space for a moment before shaking her head and looking clearly at him.

"We need to find Diana."

She said it with authority and perfect clarity, her words clipped.

"We need to do a locator spell," he said, nodding. "Let's get to work."

* * *

 _Hello my lovelies. I always did do my most productive stuff while at work. And since we're in a lull, I decided to get busy._

 _Have a great afternoon and rest of the week. Merry meet, and merry part, and merry meet again._

 _\- M._


End file.
